After what felt like a cat nap, we woke up and glancing at the clock, I realized we could definately make a Circle Line sightseeing tour around the lower side of Manhattan. However, eyeing a still slumbering friend, I opted wait and see before going my usual hell for leather speed. Once she woke up, we made plans and hit the road, or rather breakfast at Au Bon Pain. Yum. I love real breakfasts and this one was delightful.
We headed towards the Subway and took the NRQ line towards the Statan Island Ferry Terminal. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride as along the way, there were students that broke into song. Like a flashmob, they were all out to entertain us and I was quite happy to let them. At 11:32 we raced up the stairs expecting to have missed the tour but instead, we walked (ran) right aboard and the Circle Line Tour left the dock. It was gloriously sunny but shivery. The nip in the air became an honest to goodness snap as we hit open water. The sunshine hit the Manhattan skyline in spectacular style and the views of the Statue of Liberty were grand. We didn't visit Ellis Island or the statue as they are still being repaired after Hurricane Sandy. The ship's audio explained the various vistas and they trolled up the Hudson River to give a full hour excursion.
On docking back at Pier 5, we opted to head towards the New York Historical Society Museum to meet the rest of our crew. With the subway station closed, and a necessary defrosting stop at Starbucks for our windblown selves, we sauntered to another station and promptly took a wrong train that still worked but wasn't as direct. What a difference a corner can make! On this train, there was a caravan of people walking through the Subway singing beautifully for Jesus. I coined the Subways the singing subways as the trend continued with various musicians playing for pennies.
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| Docking |
The New York Historical Society Museum was delightful. They had interactive screens near their entrance. I had the opportunity to figure them out during our guided tour when the docent was discussing an artifact at great length. I saw that they had no sound so was happily amusing myself and then...well...I found the one with sound and so backed away swiftly. Do NOT play with these screens during a tour, instead, look at the 9/11 photographs or the artifacts in the portholes in the floor. Eventually, our guide took us up to the fourth floor to their open storage which was amazing. Tiffany Glass, the incredible train station toy collection, and furniture...wow. Then the guide suggested seeing the Autoban...I heard German highway and opted to stay on the 4th floor prowling the storage. I was wrong to do that as when I caught up, I discovered that Auduban meant incredible images of birds. Then, there was the Martin Luther King exhibition, the WWII exhibition and so much more. This was a great stop.
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| Don't play with these during a tour |
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| They invite you to sit and imagine yourself in these clothes |
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| Martin Luther King at the New York Historical Society Museum |
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| 9/11 Memorial Wall |
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| Tiffany Glass |
Due to dinner reservations, we headed out and had an incredible meal before heading over to the Nederland theatre to see Newsies. This was a high energy extravaganza of song, dance and a lovely story. We had the attention of Ed playing percussion in the pit as we were sitting at the very front. I would sit a bit further back as you miss some of the fancy footwork sitting so close and you definitely can be "sprayed" by some of the singers. I really loved this production though and would totally see it again.
Singing our way back to the Subway, we stopped in at a local pub and I tried the local beer. Brooklyn Ale...it has a bit of a kick back to it so I will stick to my usual amber's from hereon out. After midnight - yes, it was time to go to bed.
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